Day 085 - 08 Feb 95 - Page 05

     
     1   MR. RAMPTON:  That, I anticipate, is the reason why they have
     2        done that.
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I had not anticipated that so, if that is so,
     5        it may well be miss-founded, but we have not actually come
     6        to that yet.
     7
     8   MR. RAMPTON:  But, my Lord, it is as with the Public Health
     9        Laboratory report about Preston, unless this becomes
    10        evidence, which it does not without use of the Civil
    11        Evidence Act notice, it cannot be used in court.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I understand that.  I had not related the
    14        Civil Evidence Act Notice of Mr. Clark to Mr. Atherton's
    15        presence in the witness box at all.
    16
    17   MR. RAMPTON:  Maybe it is a good thing that I have said what
    18        I have to say because I do believe that I am right about
    19        the Defendants' intentions.  If I am right about it, then I
    20        shall have something to say about it.
    21
    22   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I quite agree, subject to any argument from
    23        either Mr. Morris or Ms. Steel, that no part of Mr. Clark's
    24        statement at this moment has any evidential status because
    25        it has merely had a Civil Evidence Act notice put on it
    26        which you have not had an opportunity to reply to or give
    27        counter notice to at this stage.
    28
    29   MR. RAMPTON:  I mean, it is worse than that.  It is that
    30        I deliberately did not ask Mr. Atherton in-chief any
    31        questions about this piece of paper.
    32
    33   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, there we are.  It is not evidence at the
    34        moment.
    35
    36   MS. STEEL:  I am not quite sure why Mr. Rampton deliberately did
    37        not ask any questions about it, but if he wants to ask
    38        someone, we have no objection.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That does not matter.  You carry on.  It is
         not in evidence because a Civil Evidence Act Notice has
    42        been put on it because the person on whom it is served has
    43        to have an opportunity to give counter notice and
    44        everything else.  So, at the moment it is an inadmissible
    45        document in the same category as others which we have had,
    46        and follows the same procedure as the procedure we followed
    47        then.  In due course, it may very well be we will hear
    48        evidence from Mr. Clark either under the provisions of the
    49        Civil Evidence Act or from the witness box, but we will
    50        just have to see. 
    51 
    52                        MR. ATHERTON, continued. 
    53              Cross-examined by the Defendants, continued.
    54
    55   MR. MORRIS:  Mr. Atherton, your company takes health and safety
    56        of employees seriously, yes?
    57        A.  Correct.
    58
    59   Q.   Are you aware that the Health & Safety Executive did a
    60        comprehensive analysis of McDonald's safety record and